Exploring Extreme Environment Creatively through Art and Science

Abstract

SCM’s course "Media Art and the Environment" is the academic component of the university’s Extreme Environments programme. As part of the course, data gathered via collective environmental research is reimagined in new forms of presentation including robotics, gaming, animation, interactive cinema, and mobile apps. Using the data from the 2013 expedition to Antarctica, this proposal is for the materials needed by the students to gain experience in developing new types of visualization, assistance with the exhibition of their findings through hiring and training student docents, documentation and publication of data from the final projects, and administrative help to succeed in all the abovementioned deliverables. The first expedition and exhibition gave impetus to further investigate immersive education, develop novel interdisciplinary research strategies, and extend the discovery-enriched curriculum. The results of the pilot programme in 2012 showed the academic, research, and public outreach value in fieldwork as a form of discovery. The participating students all noted better understanding, the results were published in top tier conferences, and due to social networks and the media, millions were reached regarding new ways to promote sustainability. This TDG grant will support larger, more complex student projects, better documentation, increased visibility, deeper pedagogical research, and stronger partnerships.